Dialing 911

Dialing From A Wireless Phone

When you dial 911 from your wireless phone it will be displayed as Phase I or Phase II. The difference between these phones will change the information automatically provided to our telecommunicators.

Phase I

Phase I are the older type wireless phones and will not give an accurate address from where you are calling, instead the address displayed will be the tower location.

Phase II

A Phase II wireless phone will give an approximate address of where you are calling from and GPS coordinates. To find out more about which phase type your wireless phone is, contact your wireless cell phone provider.

Prepaid Phones

When you dial 911 from a prepaid phone such as a TracFone, it will not show the address of where you are calling from or your phone number.

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)

When you dial 911 from your VOIP phone, it may or may not display the address you are calling from. It all depends on the VOIP company that you have VOIP service with.

Do You Already Know My Address?

In many cases, including when you call from a landline, your address will automatically populate. However, we will always; ask it again to make sure our information is correct on our equipment.

Some wireless phones do not provide an address, so please be sure that all individuals in the household, including children, can accurately; relay location information. Please visit the Dialing From a Wireless Phone page for more information.

Misdials

If you accidentally dial 911, please stay on the line and let us know it was a misdial.

When you dial 911 from a landline phone and hang up, we will immediately call you back. If we do not get an answer we automatically send a deputy/officer to your address to verify you are okay.

Wireless phones may or may not automatically provide us with your location or contact information. Please visit the Is My Information Automatically Received page for information on dialing 911 from a wireless phone.

What to Expect

When calling 911 please answer the questions we ask you, remain calm and be patient. Listen and answer the questions asked so that information can be relayed to the responding units and to ensure an expedient response.

Why do you ask me so many questions?

To determine the level of response and number of responders needed, to assure prompt arrival of emergency personnel, and to advise responders of potentially hazardous situations. Staying on the line with the call taker does not delay the response. Someone else is sending the appropriate responder and relaying additional information to responders.

The types of questions asked will vary depending on the nature of the call. The following pages provide information on the questions asked for different emergencies:

If medical assistance is required the following predetermined questions will be asked:

What is the address of your emergency?

What is the telephone number that you are calling from?

What is the problem, tell me exactly what happened?

Are you with the patient now?

How old is the patient (or approximate age)?

Is he/she conscious?

Is he/she breathing?

Once these questions are answered we will then begin another series of questions. This may sound like a lot of questions, but if answered appropriately it will only take a short time. These questions help us to determine the appropriate response for the units responding to your emergency.

We can also provide life saving instructions over the phone. If you should call for someone not breathing then we can instruct you on how to perform CPR until responding units can arrive. We can also instruct you on how to deliver a baby, control bleeding, and how to perform the Heimlich on a choking victim.